“Did Zoe recognize you?” Tony asked Sal after the courier had left.

“Not that I noticed. None of her vitals spiked or anything like that. I didn’t even notice her eyes widening either,” the slicer replied shrugging his shoulders. “Would it matter if she had?”

“Not really,” Tony replied. “What is she taking to the bank?”

“The first Rabbit,” Sal answered.

“Is this the one that takes credits?” Tony asked.

“No. This Rabbit nibbles people’s information,” Sal replied. “Identity theft is still a lucrative business. We can always sell the data or make use of it ourselves.”

“True,” the underboss agreed. “The next data delivery will be the Rabbit that takes credits?”

“Yeah, provided this one is successful and doesn’t get caught. Then the third planned delivery is an Atomic, which we’ll use to cover up the bank heist and blame on the courier,” the slicer answered.

“We may hold off on that one,” Tony said.

“Why is that?” Sal asked. “Have the plans changed?”

“Zoe might be of more use than just being a scapegoat,” Tony answered. “Especially if you and your crew have done your jobs correctly and the Rabbits don’t leave any traces.”

“We’ve done our jobs,” Sal protested.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Tony, you like the kid, don’t you?” Sal guessed.

“Yeah, it’s harder to see than her looks, but she’s got spunk.”

“And she could always be forced into becoming a Dame?” Sal asked.

“Nucky was considering that, but Vinnie and I have convinced him that would be a mistake and waste of an asset,” Tony replied.

“Really? I’m surprised.”

“Don’t be. We have plans to raise Jimmy up the ranks and he cares for his cousin even if they’re not related by blood. It would be a shame to have to kill him because he got angry and lashed out over our handling of her. Besides, the girl is a good courier and it’s nice having a courier under our thumb.”

“Fair enough,” Sal said. He thought any drone could do what couriers did, but it wasn’t his decision to pay people to do simple tasks. Tony had a point too. It was hard getting a courier to owe the family. “Need me for anything else?”

“Nah,” Tony replied before grinning at the mob slicer. “You can return to your lair.”

“Thanks. I would take a nap, but it won’t take the courier long to make the delivery. I’ll hold off on the nap until I confirm the Rabbit is working.”

“Slacker.”

“Only when I can get away with it,” Sal replied walking away.

*

Zoe used Nostradamus to scan the data Sal had given her just as soon as she was out of range of Capones’ network. Thankfully the data reader showed exactly what was in her storage space and that the mob had just embedded a Rabbit in the financial records and not anything too dangerous. She was curious about what this Rabbit did. Too bad Nostradamus was read only. What Zoe needed was something that would let her modify data, dump it, or at least copy whatever she was carrying.

Zoe messaged Claire asking if she had anything that would allow her to do what she wanted with the mob data. The cyberdoc replied in the negative and that Zoe needed to squash her curiosity and just carry the data she was paid to haul. She reminded Zoe that couriers were typically protected by the law since they didn’t know what they carried.

“I guess Claire has forgotten about the triad establishment that went up in flames after I visited it,” Zoe mused as she drove toward the bank. Zoe messaged Doc Brown again mentioning that little fact and why she had gotten Nostradamus in the first place.

“I hadn’t forgotten,” Claire said once Zoe answered her call. “I just think it’s best you do your job and nothing more for a while. Need I remind you that you were shot and then almost crippled?”

“You just reminded me,” Zoe replied giving the cyberdoc a grin as she looked for a parking space. “And the wreck had nothing to do with doing something dangerous.”

“Street racing isn’t dangerous?” Claire asked raising an eyebrow in question.

“Ok! Racing Haru was dangerous and stupid,” Zoe huffed. “I did promise not to do it again.”

“At least you learned something,” Doc Brown laughed. “Look, I understand that you want to be more proactive when it comes to what you’re carrying for the mob or any others, but don’t be. Just use the data reader to make sure you’re not carrying anything dangerous like an Atomic or other attacking virus and do your job.”

“What if I do end up with something dangerous in my storage?”

“Then let one of us know and come to the clinic instead of delivering it. We’ll get you sorted out if something does happen,” Claire answered. “Some of my contacts will be glad to take that sort of data off your hands and even pay for it.”

“I suppose you have a point,” Zoe replied after thinking it over and parking. She took off her helmet and sat it on the GT4’s tank before extending her NanoHair to just past shoulder length. “I just don’t like the idea of carrying anything dangerous and not being able to do something about it.”

Claire laughed. “I don’t blame you and you really love your NanoHair, don’t you?”

“Yes! Being able to extend and shorten my hair or change colors on command is amazing! It took me a while to figure that out.”

“Yeah, changing hair styles whenever you want is nice,” Claire agreed returning Zoe’s smile. “If you really want to be able to do something about anything dangerous you carry, investigate data cleaners or wipers. You didn’t hear that from me either.”

“Thanks Claire,” Zoe replied. “I’ll make you some beef stew or something sometime.”

“You don’t have to,” Doc Brown protested.

“True, but I like doing things for friends.”

“Me too,” Claire replied. “I’ll talk to you later. I have an appointment.”

“Bye!” Zoe said just before Doc Brown disconnected. Zoe dismounted her bike and activated the security system. “Cleaners? I should have thought of that.”